Hollywood has a problem: teenagers would rather browse YouTube clips than head to the cinema. Social media, meanwhile, doesn't always make much money. AwesomenessTV's answer: combine the two.

"We're now developing films that can reach a wide audience, specifically for this under-served demographic," explains Matt Kaplan, 32, president of the Los Angeles-based company's film division, Awesomeness Films. "Traditional movie studios have stopped making millennial films aimed at a younger audience."

AwesomenessTV works with more than 200 social-media stars with a combined following of more than 30 million subscribers, including big names such as Connor Franta and Meg DeAngelis. The roster has prompted investment from DreamWorks and the Hearst Corporation.

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Sticking to fail-safe themes such as high-school dramas, YA adaptations, comedies and musicals, Awesomeness Films is already producing six features a year. "We're going to hopefully be worldwide within the next couple of years," says Kaplan.

They're not the only ones: in September, Caspar Lee and KSI released the teen-comedy Laid in America, and up-and-coming talent from Vine's KingBach to Grace Helbig are now making it in mainstream TV and films.

Awesomeness' trick: it knows how modern teens consume content. Shovel Buddies was released on demand, as with its other productions. Because increasingly, "Coming soon to a screen near you" means the one in your pocket.

This article was first published in the December 2016 issue of WIRED magazine